


Eli's Fears

by BirdNerd_10K



Category: Slugterra
Genre: Family, Friendship, Gen, Hallucinations, Hurt/Comfort, Slugterra is the Best Show, and I will go down with that tag!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:28:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27580714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BirdNerd_10K/pseuds/BirdNerd_10K
Summary: Where…are all the Slugterra fans and fanfics?!?! Rawr-rerrerererer-warf-wuf-rerererer!!! (That’s me in Burpy’s speech chewing out everybody who’s not here to hear it!) Slugterra is one of the greatest shows ever!!! Come and write fanfiction, people!!! Or demand a seventh season/movie of this awesome show!!!Okay. Other approach. Hyuuuu… (Burpy whimper) Please write Slugterra fanfics. Please request more episodes of Slugterra. *Burpy big-eyed pleading stares* At least write a few more fanfics for those who love the show so much. Please? *Joules, Banger, Spinner, Doc, Beeker, and the other slugs give puppy-eyes too*Summary for this fanfic:Eli gets bitten by a Thugglet ghoul and suffers hallucinations of his friends getting hurt. His friends would help him...if he’d tell them and not hide what happened.Very sorry. I hurt the characters I love. (That’s why other people need to write Slugterra fanfics.)
Relationships: Eli Shane & Burpy, Eli Shane & The Shane Gang
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	Eli's Fears

**Author's Note:**

> Please excuse this poorly-written fic. I had to write something for Slugterra. I intend to write more (and hopefully better) fanfics.

The instant the Thugglet ghoul bites him, Eli knows he’s in trouble. It doesn’t hurt like a normal wound. It shoots pain everywhere like a poison rapidly seeping in his whole bloodstream, and it makes his head light and his heart accelerate.

Eli slings a roaring-mad Burpy to take care of the petty Hooligang that managed to ambush him and sling the Thugglet on him. His vision’s flashing weirdly. He grabs Doc’s tube, slings him, and collapses to his knees. He feels Doc’s bubbling healing powers even as his vision goes white. Or black, or whichever color it is, it’s like all the colors together, and he can’t feel Doc’s powers anymore. He must be dreaming, because he’s somewhere, but he doesn’t feel like he’s really bodily there and he can’t sense any of his slugs.

Wait...that orange fiery thing…that’s Burpy, right? He’s transformed still. Must be taking care of...the Hooligang…right...they ambushed...fired…and he’s been bitten by a Thugglet. That’s why his arm’s tingling. But his head feels really weird too, and…

Burpy. Something’s wrong with Burpy. He’s careening in the air, screeching like he’s hurt. Eli moves forward and he’s at Burpy’s side. Burpy has reverted to protoform, and he’s pale and groaning and getting paler every second. He’s-he’s dying! Eli picks him up, rubs him. “Burpy...Burpy! Hold on Burpy. I’ll get help for you.” Burpy whimpers, looks up at him with dark-ringed, suffering eyes. Eli stands, holding Burpy closely, and suddenly the world tilts and blurs.

Now he’s sitting somewhere dark. Burpy’s gone. “Burpy!” He reaches for his tubes. They’re not there.

All his slugs are gone. “Joules! Spinner!” His voice is quiet and weak. “Doc! _Burpy!_ ”

And then he hears Kord and Trixie shout, “ _Eli!_ ”

“Eli, help us!”

“Bro, please!”

He scrambles for them, slugs or not he’s got to help them. Suddenly he sees them and they’re sprawled on the ground. Cut up and bruised, and Dr. Blakk is a few yards away with his Gatling gun aimed at them.

“ _No!_ ” Eli shouts, runs, throws his useless blaster at Blakk, anything to stop him. Blakk doesn’t even seem to notice him.

He fires.

Ghouls scream and roar, flash red and black as they strike.

There’s a black crater and pieces of blasters.

“ _Kord! Trixie!_ ” Eli collapses to his knees. He hears Blakk laugh, hears the Gatling gun whir, knows Blakk’s going to shoot him, and doesn’t care. Kord and Trixie and Burpy and all his slugs are gone, they’re gone they’re gone everybody’s gone—

Blakk must have shot him, because everything’s dark. And his arm hurts and his head hurts and everyone’s gone and—

“ _Chirr-irr-rer!_ ”

“ _Eeeoo._ ”

“ _Huyoohhh?_ ”

“ _Chir.”_

“ _Chirr-irr-rer-rerr_ _-waf_ _!_ ”

Slugs. His slugs. Burpy. Doc. Enigmo. Banger.

He—he can hear them. Where—? He tries to sit up, open his eyes wide to see in the blackness.

His fingers grip something warm and soft and light explodes in his eyes. He gasps and forces his eyes to stay open, grips whatever familiar thing he’s got in his fingers, tries to make sense of it all.

“Chirr-ir-ir-ir-ir!” Burpy. That’s Burpy. He’s got Burpy in his hand.

Burpy is sick and dying and he’s got to— He rolls over.

A bright-colored, lively Burpy chatters in frantic joy at him and his other slugs join in chirping. They’re all there. Healthy and unhurt.

“W-W-What happened?” His slugs look at one another. “Y-You’re all okay?” The slugs nod.

Then, Kord and Trixie— “They’re hurt, Blakk shot them—” Eli tries to get up. Burpy chatters and shakes his head vigorously, then looks up at him worriedly. “But Blakk shot them—” Joules and Burpy shake their heads.

“Eeooo.” Doc hops on his hand and along his arm. What…? Right, ghoul bite. He can see the faint marks. Doc must’ve healed it. Pieces of what happened before whatever happened just now, come back to him.

“The Hooligang?”

Burpy flares up and grins. “Chayrr-chayrr.”

“They’re gone?”

The slugs nod.

“Blakk...didn’t come?” He’s still seeing Kord and Trixie getting blasted by the Gatling, that empty black crater with shattered blaster pieces—

The slugs shake their heads.

“Kord and Trixie are okay?” Nod. “Nothing happened to them? To you guys?” Head shake. “Burpy, you’re not sick?” Head shake. The slugs look really concerned.

Eli sinks to the ground. He must have been unconscious from the ghoul bite and those must have been nightmares, Burpy sick, Kord and Trixie blasted by the Gatling gun. It didn’t quite feel like a nightmare, it was so real, he could’ve sworn…

“You’re sure everybody’s okay?” All the slugs nod. Doc nudges his injured arm. The only one they’re worried about, it seems, is him.

He should apologize for the panic and scaring them. “Sorry.” The slugs chatter at him, and he doesn’t need to understand slug language to know they’re telling him it’s fine and of course they’re worried for him. “Still, sorry.” He curls in on himself as he lays on the ground and feels weak and pitiful as he does it. But he’s shaken and he feels it. He was so sure his slugs had vanished, Burpy was dying and Kord and Trixie had been killed by Blakk…

Burpy chitters quietly and wiggles in his hand. His eyes are big and comforting, his body warm and soft. “Burpy...” Eli cups him in his hands and closes his eyes. Everything’s alright now.

  
  


  
  


  
  


Except it’s not. He’s had three more...attacks in the last two days since the bite. They’re not nightmares, because they strike at any time, and they’re so real. They’re hallucinations probably, because Thugglets can make illusions, and apparently getting bitten by one causes you to have hallucinations. He hides from the Shane Gang when he feels the onset of one. (His vision starts flashing and he feels floaty before it happens.) He tells his slugs to leave him too, because he doesn’t want them to see him like that again. Burpy refuses to go anywhere and stays with him through every one. It helps to come to to someone familiar and comforting. To Trixie, Kord, and Pronto he passes off his tiredness as mild nightmares (if only) and being a bit too enthusiastic in slugslinging.

He’s going crazy, he’s breaking inside. He’s seeing his slugs and the Shane Gang getting blasted and falling down cliffs and permanently ghouled and kidnapped and _killed_ and he needs it to stop.

Doc must only be able to heal the ghouling and physical part of the bite. Like Doc can’t “heal” the effects of Freightgeist slugs or stop the normal illusions of a Thugglet. Doc cries about it, and Eli assures him it’s not his fault, because it’s the Hooligang’s, and ultimately Blakk’s for ghouling the Thugglet and making it bite in the first place.

On the second day he calls up a doctor on the gang’s I-pad. He hides in his room and turns the volume low. Just in case the Shane Gang happen to come up while he’s calling, he posts some of his slugs outside to watch.

The doctor has long, scruffy blonde hair down his back and looks at Eli tiredly.

“Well?” he says.

“I got bit by a Thugglet,” Eli says. The doctor eyes his slugs that must be visible in the video. “Not mine. It was someone else’s ghoul.” Burpy chatters in agreement.

The doctor grunts. “Do you know how many people come to me because of their ghoul slugs? Doctor, my Grimmstone bit me. Doctor, my Flaringo burnt me. I’m worn down by them. Stop using ghouls, they aren’t right in the head. I’m a doctor, I can tell. Not just idiots getting bitten by their own ghouls, but I get even more people hurt by ghouls in fights. I used to get plenty from normal duels, but ghouls are like unmeasured gunpowder.” The doctor shakes his head and props his elbow on the table.

“You got bit by a ghoul Thugglet. I’m surprised you’re in any sane state at all. The last person I saw who got bit by a ghoul Thugglet stayed crazy and hallucinated for weeks.”

“I have a healer slug. He must have stopped that. I still have some...hallucinations.”

“Healer slug. You wouldn’t trade, I’m assuming.” The doctor smiles.

“Never.” Eli shakes his head.

“Figured. You change your mind, I could use a healer in my group.” He shifts to reveal Frostcrawlers and Flaringos on the desk behind him playing miniature bingo. “About your bite…this isn’t what you called me to hear, but I can’t do anything. It’ll wear off on its own. A few days, a couple weeks, it depends.”

Eli’s heart sank. “There’s nothing at all to help.”

“To ease it, eat and drink well, sleep plenty, don’t eat questionable food, don’t go in unfamiliar places alone, try to avoid getting frightened.”

“Okay.”

The doctor eyes him with an uncomfortably steady gaze. “Thugglet bite hallucinations are based off your fears. And if not your fears, then your cares. Because your cares become fears. It’s only been about people you care about?”

Eli grimaces. Only them. His slugs, the Shane Gang, his father.

The doctor’s face softens a little into sympathy. “It _will_ go away. It’ll help you to remember that.”

  
  


  
  


Eli knows that’s true, but three days and five hallucinations later and he’s struggling. He keeps seeing his friends getting hurt, he’s a Shane, he’s supposed to protect them, and all he sees is them getting hurt over and over and he can’t save them.

He’s covering up his pain as well as he can. His slugs are stressing and hurting because of him and he hates it. He doesn’t want the Shane Gang to know and hurt too. And he doesn’t want to show them his weakness. It will stop soon.

  
  


  
  


  
  


Eli has been tired, stressed, and in pain some way and they can’t figure it out. Pronto has pried without any tact or guile. Kord has casually asked and assured Eli they’ve got his back. Trixie has very subtly slipped in questions and told Eli they’re all there for him.

Frustrating thing is, the slugs know something. When Trixie or the others ask them what’s wrong, they shake their heads and chatter worriedly. (Eli has told them not to tell.) Though only Burpy seems to be privy to everything. He never leaves Eli right now, not even when Eli tells all his other slugs to stay behind and sneaks away somewhere and doesn’t return for a half hour, an hour. When Trixie managed to snag him from Eli once and demand answers, he chirped stubbornly and leaped away from her. Nightmares are what Trixie and Kord thought, but Eli seems to sleep well. It’s like in the day, something strikes and wrecks him.

He probably thinks they don’t notice how bad off he is. Of course they do. And whenever they just think about it, Trixie’s eyes prick with tears, Kord slumps down gloomily, and Pronto doesn’t even feel hungry. They don’t want to crowd him, they want him to have space if that’s what he needs. Eli’s not put down by much. He’s usually moderately open with what’s troubling him and he recovers quick. So they left him alone. But he’s getting worse. Trixie has had enough.

Eli gets up to leave the room with some obvious excuse that Trixie doesn’t even listen to. She’s planning how to convince the slugs to tell them what’s wrong. She taps Kord on the shoulder when he protests Eli leaving, then nods with her chin at the slugs. He seems to understand and lets Eli go. The slugs look after him worriedly.

“Okay, slugs. Listen up.” Trixie stands up and looks them in the eye. They chitter and their eyes dart around. “What is wrong with Eli? He’s getting worse. Tell us.” The slugs shake their heads. Trixie raises her voice. “I know he’s told you not to. But that’s ridiculous.”

“You gotta tell us. You see how bad he looks.” Kord says. The slugs chitter and nod hesitantly.

“It is in the opinion of Pronto that Eli needs our assistance,” Pronto says. “So, for the sake of Eli, I beg you; please tell us what is wrong with him. Please.” Even the proud Pronto is begging to the slugs.

“We want to help him. He’s hurting.” Trixie’s eyes blur and her chest squeezes. Kord puts a hand on her shoulder and she inhales deeply.

The slugs chatter among themselves. Then Doc, Joules, Banger, and a few more of Eli’s favorite slugs hop forward with determined faces. They jump down the table, chatter at the Shane Gang, and head out the door. The Shane Gang follow.

  
  


A short way through the forest, the slugs turn to them and make silencing motions. Nobody has spoken, but Trixie walks as quietly as she can and there’s a lack of sounds from Kord and Pronto. What’s wrong with Eli? is all she can think.

They’ve come to a trail that looks like a person desperate to escape charged through, snapping branches and flattening grass and not caring what they ran into. Trixie’s heart thuds sharply. That’s from Eli, isn’t it?

The trail goes on for too long. And then there’s Eli on the ground.

Trixie gasps, everybody cries, “Eli!” before the slugs urge them to be quiet. Trixie clamps her mouth and she, Kord, and Pronto run to Eli.

Burpy’s there, and he jumps up from Eli’s hand and glares at them and the other slugs.

Eli’s on his side, pale, shivering and sweating, breathing like it’s a struggle. Trixie can’t see injuries other than scratches probably from his running heedlessly through the forest. Whatever made him do that in the first place is what’s wrong.

“ _Burpy._ What’s wrong with Eli?”

“Hyuuu...” Burpy’s antennas droop and he hops back into Eli’s hand. Doc hops on Eli’s arm and points at it. Trixie looks closely. Bite marks?

Joules makes snarly sounds, twitches crazily, and chomps at the air.

“A ghoul bit him?” Kord asks.

The slugs nod.

“Oh, Eli.” Trixie clenches her fist as her eyes sting.

“Why didn’t he say...” Kord trails off.

“What’s wrong with him? Doc?” Trixie asks. Doc shakes his head. He’s obviously healed it, and whatever’s going on still isn’t anything he can stop. “It’s...it’s been days. Why is it so bad?”

“What’s it doing to him?” Kord asks.

Joules gestures to his head, then stares at the ground, wide-eyed and grabbing like he’s seen something, and chirps in surprise that nothing’s there.

“It messes with his head,” Kord says.

The slugs nod.

“He might’ve been bitten by a Freightgeist. Or a Thugglet,” Trixie says. “Getting bitten by one could make someone hallucinate.”

“So Eli’s seeing things?” Kord looks at Eli helplessly.

Burpy chirps and nods, eyes wide.

Eli grimaces and shudders. He begins to mutter, frantically, incoherently, and his breathing gets harder.

Everyone looks at Burpy. What can we do? Burpy whimpers and shakes his head. He nestles in Eli’s hand and starts chirping, quiet, but as lively as he can. Trixie, Kord, Pronto and the other slugs stand by helplessly, watching as Eli mutters and winces and gasps.

Trixie is about to touch him, try to rouse him, to do _something_ , when he flinches, his muttering stops and eyes flutter. He must be coming out of it. Burpy motions them to be quiet, and he chitters reassuringly to Eli.

“Bur-Burpy,” Eli croaks, and his voice is broken and weak and Trixie never, ever wants to hear him like that. Burpy chatters, grabs his fingers, rubs against him like he’s assuring Eli that he’s really there. Eli wraps both hands around Burpy, curls up, and quivers.

Trixie has seen enough. Forcing her voice to be reassuring, she says, “ _Eli._ ” He flinches and curls up smaller.

“Eli, Bro,” Kord says hoarsely.

“N-No,” Eli whispers. Burpy grabs at him and chirps. “N-No m-more. I-I can’t take it, they can’t get h-hurt anymore, I can’t...”

Is he...seeing them getting hurt? That’s what his hallucinations are?

“Eli. We’re _here_. We’re not hurt.”

Eli shudders.

“B-Bro. Trixie and me and Pronto, all of us are okay.”

“Pronto the Significant is as m-magnificent as always.”

Eli uncurls a little. His eyes are wild and distant, haunted. Then he reaches desperately and locks his white hand around Kord’s wrist in a death-grip. Trixie places her hand over his and rubs it. Burpy chirps and nuzzles his other hand.

His eyes slowly clear and get focus but have the haunted look still. “K-Kord.” The same voice he used on Burpy. “Trix-Trixie. Pronto.”

“Eli bro. It’s okay.” Kord places his other hand on Eli’s shoulder, grips firmly.

“You’re alright. We’re alright.” Trixie squeezes his hand.

“Pronto will not let anything take him down.” Pronto pats his arm.

Burpy chirps and nuzzles his fingers.

Eli slumps down, relaxes, and breathes a little easier.

Then he flinches and pulls back his hand. “Y-You…” Trixie fears he’s about to hallucinate again.“Why a-are you here? I told them y-you can’t know.”

Trixie’s mouth twists. “Can’t know _this_? That you’ve been bitten by a ghoul and are suffering from horrendous hallucinations? You think it’s okay you just...lay here and suffer by yourself?”

“Ah-hi, you are not alone. We are thee Shane Gang,” Pronto says.

Eli blinks up at them, eyes wide, looking like a terrified child. (And he is, one that’s already lost many people dear to him.) “You can’t do anything but worry. It-It’ll have to go away on its own.”

“That’s not the point. And do you know how much we’ve worried anyways?” Trixie asks. “We had no idea what was wrong. We—”

“I’m the Shane, I shouldn’t be making you worry about me,” Eli says.

“Listen here.” Trixie takes back his hand and squeezes it in both of hers. He tenses and looks away. “You are first and foremost our friend. We love you as our friend.”

“That’s right. And it shouldn’t be different with you just cause you’re a Shane.” Kord pats his shoulder.

Eli wants to refute it, she can see it in his face. He eventually sighs and shuts his eyes like he’ll block out their words. Burpy scolds him and he opens them again.

“Eli.” Trixie holds his hand tightly and speaks gently. “You’ve been seeing us and the slugs get hurt.”

Eli nods, and looks haunted, tired.

“That’s serious. You shouldn’t have to deal with it by yourself.” Kord holds his shoulder.

“He is right.” Pronto raises his pointer finger.

Eli slumps. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Just let us help you. Please.” Trixie holds his eyes.

He looks down for a while. Then sighs like he’s giving up a burden. “Okay.”

It’s a start. Trixie smiles and pats his hand and Kord scrubs his hair. Eli smiles a little. It’s great to see.

  
  


Back at the hideout, the gang prompts Eli for the full story.

“Well, I was ambushed by the Hooligang. They shot a ghouled Thugglet at me and it bit. Burpy took care of them and Doc took care of me. I asked a doctor two days later...and he said there’s nothing to do about it. It’ll have to go away by itself. Could take a few weeks.” The others grimace.

“And how often...does it get bad like that?” Kord asks.

“Once or twice a day.” Eli looks down as the others’ faces turn to horror.

“Eli...” He’s expecting to get scolded again. He was wrong to not tell them, he knows it.

But instead Trixie, Kord, and Pronto surround him and wrap their arms around him. He grips Trixie’s hand, squeezes Pronto’s shoulder, and buries his face against Kord. Burpy jumps on his shoulder and nestles against his face. The slugs hop around him and pile up around his feet. Everyone’s here. They’re all safe. He’ll help them, and they’ll help him. Because they’re best friends, _family,_ and they’ll be there for each other.

Four days later, his hallucinations go away.


End file.
